20 February 2014

4 Book Challenge!

In Celebrating Words Week the LRCs launched the 4 Book Challenge!

The challenge, for those that accepted it, was to read 4 books and fill in a reading diary before the 10th January for a chance to win a Kindle Fire HD which was generously donated by Student Services.

A total of 157 students from all three Colleges took part in the challenge and 24 completed it! 





Here is Aqeel Zaman, Vice President of the Students Union picking the winner....






The winner of the Kindle Fire HD is Natasha Popham (BTEC L3 Creative Media, Guildford College). Here she is collecting her prize from Karen Robinson, Head of Learning and Standards, (right) and Hannah Bennett, Assistant Librarian (left).


Here are a few comments from students who took part in the challenge.

"It’s likely I would have read this much anyway however the idea of the challenge and I’d love to win ha ha. It’s nice to be rewarded for what you love!" (Lauren)

"It has become a hobby to read books. Great Challenge :)" (Isbah)

"It was nice being able to read stories and books I don't usually read. It's definitely been a good experience." (Bethany)

Thank you to all the students who took part and look out for next year's challenge!

06 February 2014

Top e-books in January

Business keeps top spot  in January's top ten e-books by pages viewed followed by Beauty TherapyIT, and Counselling.

Here's January's chart:

3937   BTEC Level 3 National Business Book 1
1000   BTEC Level 3 Business Book 2 
871     Beauty Therapy. - 3rd ed.
381     BTEC Level 3 National in IT
143     Beauty therapy. - 2nd ed.
133     MS Visual Basic.net programming for the absolute beginner
89       Exploring corporate strategy: text & cases   
62       Aromatherapy: therapy basics
60       Syngress IT security project management handbook
58       Standards in ethics for counselling in action
   

The top downloaded books for January were:

11  Exploring corporate strategy: text & cases
11  Trees: their natural history
7    Trees & forests: a colour guide
6    The planting design handbook
5    How children learn

05 February 2014

Half term opening

All three LRCs will be CLOSED on Wednesday 12 February for the staff training day.

Half term: Monday 17 February - Friday 21 Februrary

Guildford College


The LRC will be open every day in half term.
9.30 - 4.30

27 January 2014

e-resources week 2014

e-resources week saw a total of 56 students drop-in to the LRCs to find out more about  accessing e-books and e-resources including mySearch.

We also had 18 students complete our quiz with 3 students winning £10 printing vouchers. These students were Sally Thompson (GC), Sacha Rivett (MW) and Harriet Bragg (FC).



mySearch allows you to search most of the LRCs e-resources in one place!



Dawsonera is one of our e-book platforms and allows you to access and download e-books to your PC and portable devices such as iPads.






If you would like to find out more about these e-resources and the others that are available to staff and students please pop into your LRC and ask!



07 January 2014

New resource for images



We have signed up for free access for a year to the PYMCA courtesy of JISC.


This photo library contains over 100,000 images of social history and youth culture spanning more than 150 years.  Content featured includes, but is not limited to, fashion, music, art, design, travel, social issues, lifestyles, sports, nightlife...

PYMCA Education

This offers a huge and fully researched reference archive of over 35,000 images, thousands of essays, interviews, texts, trends and insight reports, magazine back issues, and links relating to modern (1940+) social history and youth culture.

To sign in please use the 'Login via your home institution' option and choose Guildford College.  The username and password is your usual College login.

E-resources Week 13th - 17th January

Do you always find the right resources for your assignment? Can you use the LRCs e-resources? Do you know how to search the online catalogue Heritage, find e-books and use mySearch?

If the answer to any of these questions is NO then come along to the LRCs e-resources event. There are drop-in sessions, displays and quizzes all week.

Here is what's happening...

Guildford College LRC Drop-in Sessions

  • Monday 9am - 12pm: Heritage & e-books
  • Tuesday 9am - 12pm: mySearch & e-resources
  • Tuesday 12pm - 1pm: e-readers & fiction e-books
  • Wednesday 9am - 12pm: Heritage & e-books
  • Thursday 9am - 12pm: mySearch & e-resources
Every day from 4pm a Librarian will be available to answer your e-resources questions!


Merrist Wood LRC Drop-in Sessions
  • Monday 2.30pm - 5pm: e-resources & mySearch
  • Tuesday 9am - 11.30am: e-books & Heritage
  • Wednesday 2.30pm - 5pm: e-resources & mySearch
  • Thursday 2.30pm - 5pm: e-books & Heritage
  • Friday 2pm - 4pm: e-resources & mySearch

Farnham College LRC Drop-in Sessions
  • Monday 9.30am - 12.30pm & 2pm - 3.30pm: e-resources & e-books
  • Tuesday 9.30am - 12.30pm & 2pm - 3.30pm: e-resources & e-books.
  • Wednesday 9.30am - 12.30pm & 2pm - 3.30pm: e-resources & e-books.
  • Thursday 9.30am - 12.30pm & 2pm - 3.30pm: e-resources & e-books.
  • Friday 9.30am - 12.30pm & 2pm - 3.30pm: e-resources & e-books.
Staff Briefing: Monday 8.30am - 9am Introduction to mySearch & e-resources.

All LRCs are running an e-resources Quiz with a chance to win a £10 printing voucher!

We look forward to seeing you there!

17 December 2013

E-books, have you used them yet?

All three LRCs are closing over Christmas but e-books are a great way to use the LRC's resources from home!

Here is a quick guide to get you started...

We have over 3200 e-books in stock and they are all accessible through our Online Catalogue 'Heritage'. Please open the Heritage link in Google Chrome or Internet Explorer 9 to make sure you have full functionality.

If you just want to search for e-books use Advanced search and select E-book from the Media Type drop down menu.


Once you have your search results click on the title of the e-book you want to view and then on the Resource link. Enter your College Username and Password and you will be transferred to the e-book. 

All e-books can be viewed online or downloaded to your computer. You can also print and copy from e-books and use a range of interactive tools to help you study.

For more information on e-books pop in and see a member of LRC staff or check out our new Top Tips for using e-books Guide on the LRC e-resources Moodle Page.

Happy Reading!